Chip Kelly can be misunderstood. To an outsider, the Oregon coach can be considered aloof or flighty, his brain constantly outracing his body. To those who know him best, he's fun and funny, loyal almost to a fault, and undeniably inquisitive.

To current Eagle and former Ducks linebacker Casey Matthews, "he's different."

Kelly, 49, is single, married to his profession but still able to keep the bigger picture of life in perspective. His office is not your typical coach's office. It's always dark, yet it's tranquil. According to Matthews, it's not your typical coach's office.

The hot coaching candidate, who is believed to be the Eagles' No. 1 choice for the job, is quite an interesting enigma. Kelly blares music during lightning-paced practices, yet he's often eerily quiet, if only because he's contemplating his next move. Always, though, Kelly is absorbing and improving, listing and watching.

"You have to be pretty good when you're around him because he's good at what he does," said New Hampshire coach and close confidant Sean McDonnell, who has known Kelly for 25 years. "He's really sharp."

Kelly may be at the top of his profession — he just led the University of Oregon to its third straight 12-win season — but, with him, there's always a quest for something bigger. Sometimes his endless search for fulfillment is quenched with a trip to Africa to educate adolescent girls or a football reconnaissance mission overseas. There always seems to be something.

This time, his inquisitive desire may lead him directly to the National Football League, where he has his admirers and friends (among them Bill Belichick and former NFL head coach Jon Gruden). Kelly has interviews scheduled with the Eagles, Browns and Bills. With his fast-paced explosive offense and innovative mind, he's one of the hottest coaching prospects on the market.

It should be no surprise that the next step in his coaching life could be the NFL. Last year, he came awfully close to becoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coach. That job eventually went to another college coach, Rutgers' Greg Schiano, after Kelly reportedly turned down the Bucs' offer at the final minute.

Now, Kelly's ready for a second dance with the adults from the professional ranks. The second time around he may just find the perfect partner.

"I've said I'll always listen," Kelly explained after beating Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night. "That's what I'll do."

Kelly's known best as the Oregon coach, but the majority of his life and resume unfolded on the East Coast in New Hampshire. That's where he was born, starred in high school as a three-sport athlete (football, basketball and hockey) and climbed, for the most part, the coaching ranks. Aside from short stints at Columbia and John Hopkins most of his life pre-Oregon had been spent in New Hampshire. That's where most of his friends and family still reside. As recently as Christmas, Kelly returned to New England to hang with his friends.

That's one thing about the unmarried Oregon coach, he's never forgotten where he came from. He's still close with many of the high-school friends and coaches from his New Hampshire days. They travel to many of his game, where Kelly always accommodates them. It's one reason he may be interested in the Eagles or Bills job with it being just a short plane ride from home.

"He's one of those guys who never forgot where he came from," said McDonnell, who was one of Kelly's many long-time friends to attend Thursday's Fiesta Bowl.

Kelly worked under McDonnell at UNH, mostly as his offensive coordinator before taking a similar job at Oregon in 2007. They grew up together at New Hampshire where McDonnell saw first-hand the characteristics that have made Kelly such a successful head coach.

"I just saw how hard he worked, going to watch people, going to talk to people, trying to figure out how to get better," McDonnell said. "He uses the analogy when he works with the kids and around us: Be like a sponge. He absorbed everything he could. That is what made him so good."

He's been better than good at Oregon, and what's taken Kelly to the next level has been his offense. Oregon has ranked in the Top 5 in the national in total offense each of the last three years. The question now is whether he will take his spread option offense in its current form to the NFL.

"All I know is he's been pretty good everywhere he's gone," McDonnell said. "I know if he ever goes, if he gets there, he'll be smart enough to figure out how to use the talent around him."